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15 July 2008 : Column 249W—continued


The Environment Agency started monitoring passenger boat movements through locks (traffic) in 2004. The figures are shown in the following table:

Number

2004

4,853

2005

12,602

2006

14,118

2007

14,314


The Environment Agency does not specifically monitor freight traffic as this is currently negligible on the non-tidal Thames.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what money has been received in the last 10 years from the European Union for promoting greater use of the River Thames for (a) passenger and (b) freight traffic. [217906]

Jonathan Shaw: The Environment Agency is the navigation authority for the non-tidal River Thames (source to Teddington). No money has been received in the last 10 years from the European Union for promoting greater use of the River Thames for passenger and freight traffic. The Thames Valley is not a priority area for European funding.


15 July 2008 : Column 250W

Shellfish

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) who has powers to close shellfish waters to fishing on grounds of pollution or toxicity levels; [217047]

(2) what steps his Department takes to prevent shellfish from (a) British and (b) other waters being marketed when affected by radioactivity or other pollution. [217048]

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.

Food business operators are responsible for placing safe food on the market.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the competent authority for food safety, and is responsible for designating and classifying shellfish beds and ensuring that these areas are monitored for microbiological contamination and the presence of marine biotoxins in accordance with the relevant food safety legislation. In England and Wales this monitoring is undertaken by local enforcement authorities. Delegated powers are conferred on local enforcement authorities to close shellfish beds when monitoring results exceed specified legal limits.

The FSA also carries out a comprehensive monitoring programme around United Kingdom nuclear sites and further afield to ensure the safety of seafood from radioactive pollution. For shellfish from other waters, the port health authorities have the powers to sample shellfish (and other foods) for radioactive pollution and prohibit their placing on the market in the UK, if appropriate.

Subject to ministerial approval, the FSA may also issue Emergency Closure Orders under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1995 to close shellfish beds due to toxicity or pollution levels.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest: Environment Protection

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the preservation of heathland on Sites of Special Scientific Interest. [217668]

Joan Ruddock: Our policy for heathland on Sites of Special Scientific Interest is to avoid any loss of extent, to maintain the condition of those areas in favourable condition and to improve conditions in those areas that are currently unfavourable.

We are on course to meet the PSA target of 95 per cent. of SSSIs in favourable or recovering condition by 2010. The current figure for heathland SSSIs is 79.2 per cent.

Home Department

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Wales

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were (a) issued and (b) breached in Wales in each year since they were introduced. [218770]


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Mr. Coaker: The number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued and breached in Wales (up to 31 December 2006) are given in the following tables. The first table shows the number of orders issued (by year and by area) and the second the number of orders
15 July 2008 : Column 252W
breached in each year by area. It is of course possible that an order recorded as having been breached in, say, 2004 could have been issued in 2003, and therefore the two tables are not directly comparable.

Table 1: Number of antisocial behaviour orders issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, by CJS area and year, April 1999 to December 2006
1999-2000 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
CJS area Total issued Apr 99-May 00 Jun-Dec

Dyfed Powys

43

12

8

Gwent

121

2

2

8

27

North Wales

255

1

7

15

42

South Wales

201

1

4

3

29

46

Total Wales

620

2

6

12

64

123


2005 2006
CJS area Jan-Mar Apr-Jun Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Total Jan-Mar Apr-Jun Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Total

Dyfed Powys

1

2

5

7

15

6

1

1

8

Gwent

7

14

7

5

33

15

9

10

15

49

North Wales

23

31

29

20

103

25

17

20

25

87

South Wales

15

15

18

16

64

19

16

10

9

54

Total Wales

46

62

59

48

215

65

43

40

50

198

Notes:
1. Previously issued data have been revised.
2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Source:
Prepared by OCJR

Table 2: ASBOs proven in court to have been breached for the first time within the periods shown( 1) by CJS area( 2) from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2006
CJS area 2000-02( 3) 2003 2004 200 2006 Total

Dyfed Powys

0

5

5

6

10

26

Gwent

3

2

16

24

17

62

North Wales

3

7

12

50

51

123

South Wales

4

11

12

29

30

86

Total Wales

10

25

45

109

108

297

(1) ASBOs may be breached more than once and in more than one year. In this table ASBOs are counted once only within the period when they were first breached.
(2) ASBOs may be issued in one area and breached in another. Breaches are counted in this table by area of issue.
(3) From 1 June 2000.
Note:
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Source:
OCJR Court Proceedings Database

Burglary: Wales

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many burglaries were reported in each police authority area in Wales in each year since 1997; and how many convictions for burglary were obtained in each authority area in each of those years. [218777]

Mr. Coaker: Statistics on the number of recorded offences of burglary in Wales for the years 1997 to 2006-07 are given in Tables 1-3.

Statistics on the number of defendants found guilty at all courts in Wales for burglary for the years 1997 to 2006 are provided in Table 4. Information for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.

The figures given in Table 4 relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

Caution must be used when looking at recorded crime statistics and convictions statistics as these are from two different databases and recorded in quite different ways. Recorded crime data are provided on a financial year basis and count offences whereas court proceedings data are on a calendar year basis and count offenders. Therefore, these two separate data-sets are not directly comparable.


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15 July 2008 : Column 254W
Table 1 Offences of burglary recorded by the police in Wales, 1997
Police force area Number of offences

Dyfed-Powys

2,590

Gwent

9,154

North Wales

7,554

South Wales

27,147

Wales

46,445


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